Arch support



June 12, 1928. 1,673,126 F. sARRA ARCH SUPPORT Filed April 25'. 1925 ,27'

Patented June i2, i928.

UNITED STATES FRANK SARRA, F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 J'. J. GROVEBS SONS COM- ?NY, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

ARCH surnoms.

application ined Aprn 25, i925. serial No. 25,777.

'This invention pertains to footwear and more particularly to arch supports, useful in preventive or corrective treatment ,of various anatomical weaknesses or defects particularly those of the transverse and anterior arches of the foot. y

@bjects 'of the invention are to provide arch supporting means' adapted to be incorporated in a shoe or otherarticle of footwear, said supporting means comprising a supporting element or pad which may readily be adjusted or renewed by the user.

Further objects are to provide a support of such a character that it will not be ,displaced during the donning or removal fof the shoe or Vduring continued wear, even though -the foot of the wearer should be damp or wet;` to -provide a support which does not add materially tothe weight of the shoe, and to furnish a support which may be. manufactured without the aid of special machinery and at a nominal cost.

ln the accompanying drawings certain preferred embodiments of the invent-ion have been illustrated by Way of example,

Fig. 1 being a plan view of a shoe having the improved arch support incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 being the perspective view with parts broken away, illustrating -the improved arch support. complete;

Fig. 3 being a side elevation of the arch support disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2, showing the parts in position to permit the removal or adjustment of the support pad;

Fig. et being a similar side elevation of a modified form of supporting means; and

Figs. 5 and 6 being vertical sections subvstantially on the llines 5-5 and 6-6 -respectively of Fig. 2 showing the shape of the adjustable pad.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 indicates generally a shoe which may be of anyvusual type, havin an upper comprising the toe portion 2 an the heelportions 3, and the outer sole 4.

The insole 5 comprises a main member 6 having in general the'same contour as .the outer sole and extending from the toe 7 to the heel 8, and an auxiliary member 9.

In accordance with one proposed arrangement the member 9, which may be formed of any desired material such for example, asy leather, cloth, rubber or the like, .is disposed beneath the rear part of the main ball of the foot where it terminates, preferably in axcurved edge, convex toward the toe of thel shoe.` This edge is preferably skived as indicated -at 10 to make a proper -joint with the main member 'of the insole and is permanently secured to the latter by a row 1l of sewing stitches or. other suitable fastening elements. This seam or row of. fastener elements extends from the point 12 at one side of the linsole to the point 13 at vthe opposite side and is substantially parallel to the curved forward edge of the member 9.

This insole may be provided with the usual steel shank piece or spring 14 attached to the under side of the member 9 in any suitable manner, the spring tending to flex the rear part of the insole downwardly when removed from the shoe.

'lhe member 9 is unconnected to the main member 6 to the rear of the' points 12 and, 13 except by means of a separable fastener device such, for example, as a snap fastener comprising the, members 15 v.and 16 secured respectively to the member'9 and to the rear portion of the member 6. Preferably the snap fastener is disposed at the shank part of the insole where it will not be subjected to the pressure at the foot and will -not cause discomfort to the wearer. More than one fastener may be. employed if desired and it is obvious that fasteners of any suitable type may be used provided they are not of a character such as to cause discomfort to the wearer.

The rearV portionv of the main member 6 of the insole and the lower member 9 thereof nprmally lie in contact with each other constituting in effect a two ply rear part for the insole, the plies being connected by the separable fastener element at the shank. In the space between the, separable fastener and the rearwardly concave seam ,11, a suitable arch supporting pad 17 is inserted between the plies. This pad may bey made of rubber, felt, cork or any other suitable material and is preferably of the general shape indicated in Figs. 2, 5, and 6. As thus shown, the pad is preferably widest at its forward part and has a flat or concave under surface and a withdrawn by disengaging the separablev fastener elements l5 and 16 and flexing the rear part of the main member 6 upwardly about the seam 11 as an axis.v The pad may be inserted and positioned laterally or in a front to rear construction in accordance with the requirements of the particular case and this may be done by the user'with little effort and yat any time. When the pad has been positioned, the rear part of the main member 6 is restored to'its normal position and the fastener elements 15 and 16 are en gaged, thus retaining the upper and lower plies of the insole in proper relative position and confining the pad in the space between the plies where it is held very firmly so that it does not shift or change its position during Wear.

If the insole constitute the slip sole of a turn shoe the rear end of the member 9 `will ordinarily be tixedly secured in position by means of tacks 21 and preferably at the shank by means of a rivet 21a. Moreover the entire under surface of the insole is usually coated with cement so that the sole is permanently attached to the inner surface of the shoe. The insole thus constructed does not interfere in any way with the donning or removal of the shoe and there is no tendency for the upper ply of the insole to curl up or become displaced during Wear since its upper surface is continuous from tip to toe. i

When the pad has been placed in position between the upper and lower plies of the insole, it produces a bulge or hump in the upper surface of the 'main member of the sole as indicated at 2O and although this bulge or hump may be of substantial height it does not produce any abrupt break in the upper surface of the insole such as would cause unduly rapid Wear of the stocking or abrasion of the foot.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 4 the insole which carries the pad 17 comprises a true inner sole 22 having the channel 23 at its under side for the reception of the sewing stitches by means of which the upper of the shoe is secured to the inner sole. This main member 22 extends substantially from the toe to the heel of the' shoe, terminating at the points 24 and 25 respectively. In accordance with this modification an auxiliary member 26 is`disposed above the rear part of the main member 22, having substantially the same contour as the latter and' being adapted to register therewith.

- The forward edge of the member 26 is preferably curved in the same manner as the member 9 above described and such edge is skived at 27 to form a smooth joint. The seam 28, preferably curved like the seam 11, permanently unites the forwardend ofthe member 26 tothe main member 22 of the insole.

The upper and lower plies` at the rear part of the insole are not connected by permanent connections except at the seam 28, but may be detachably united by means of separable fastener elements 29 and 30 respectively or other suitable fastening means. tening means may be disposed at the shank of the sole or rearwardly thereof as here illustrated, the exact point of location being immaterial.

As in the previously described arrangement, the double ply construction extends forwardly to the ball portion of the insole and the pad 17 is preferably disposed adjacent to the forward end of this two ply/.pon tion and Within the concavity of the seam 28. The exact location of this pad is, of course, determined in accordance with the defect which is to be treated.

In the arrangement. last described the entire main part 22 of the insole is permanently secured to the other parts of the shoe, but the upper ply 26 may be flexed upwardly as shown in Fig. 4, to permit insertion, removal or adjustment. of the pad. In this instance also the upper surface of the insole is sub stantially uninterrupted from heel to toe and since the plies are permanently connected by the seam 28, it is impossible fo` the upper ply to wrinkle or to be drawn out of shape when the foot is removed from the shoe.

It is to be observed that in both forms of the device disclosed, it is unnecessary to remove the basal or foundation member from the shoe in adjusting the pad nor is it necessary to insert the pad laterally. from the side of the insole which can only be accom-- Such fasplished with difficulty after the insole has\ l been placed in the shoe. y

.The entire device-disclosed may be made by the use of the usual mechanisms found inl shoe factories and requires no special machinery or unusualmaterials in its manufacture. 'lhe device is light in-weight,fdoes not detract from the appearance of the shoe and may be manufactured at a very low cost, while as above stated the adjustment of the pad may readily be made by the wearer at any time and does not necessitate the services of an expert or the employment of; special tools.

lfVhile a two ply construction at the rear of the insole is here specifically shown and described it is obvious that the main or auxiliary member or both may be of multi-p1y or lamellar construction if desired.

I claim:

1. An-arch support for shoes comprising an insole having two plies at its rear part e v and a forward part having a thickness substantially equal to one of said plies, the plies at the rear part being independent but connected by a forwardly convex transverse row of fastener elements near the ball of the foot, said insole having a substantially smooth and uninterrupted foot surface extending substantially from heelv to toe of the shoe, the plies at the rear part of the insole being free. of connection along their lateral margins, a pad disposed between said plies near their line of union, said pad resting directly upon the upper surface of the lower ply and being freely adjustable to any de,- sired position intermediate the heell and said row of fastener elements, and means for releasably uniting the plies at ay 'point to the` rear of such row of fastener elements.

2. An arch support for shoes comprising an insole having a member extending substantially from the toe tip to the rear part of the heel of the shoe, the forward and rear portions of said member being substantially of the same thickness, fastening means permanently securing said insole to other parts of the shoe, the insole also having a member one end of which is disposed near the ball of the shoe and whose other end is disposed substantially at the rear end of the heel, said members being permanently vunited by a transverse seam near the ball of the foot and presenting a substantially uninterrupted and A smooth foot supporti-ng surface extending substantially from the toe to the heel of the shoe, said members being unconnected along their lateral margins, the under side of the upper memberbelng free from loose flaps or struction, said second` member extending from the heel to the ball portion only of the sole, said insole being permanently secured Within the shoe and forming an essential part of the latter, the upper and under plies of the insole being permanently united by a curved seam extending transversely of the sole at the ball portion of the insole, said seam being concavely curved towardv the heel, the rear part of the upper ply being constructed and arranged to flex upwardly vto permit insertion of a pad between the plies within the concavity of said seam, said rear part consistingof a single layer of' material and being 'without parts which would interfere with free adustment of the pad to any desired position intermediate the heel and said curved seam, and disengageable fastener means at the shank of the insole normally securing said plies together.

Signed by me at L nn, Massachusetts, this 'I0 pril 1925.

Seventeenth day of si FRANK sARRA. 

